from David Clayton, “The Way of Beauty”
Liturgical science? In the Canticle of Daniel, chanted on Lauds Sunday Week 1and all feast days in the Divine Office, all of creation is called to give praise to God. The frosts hail and snow, wind and rain and all the other inanimate aspects of creation listed in this canticle do not give praise to God literally, but through their beauty they direct our praise to God. The cosmos is made for us. Through it, we perceive the Creator. In this sense the whole of Creation is ordered liturgically, in that it directs us to God and we give Him thanks, praise and glory. That thanks and praise of man is expressed most perfectly in the liturgy.
Well it seems that we could modify this canticle in accordance with the discoveries of particle physics, perhaps adding the line: ‘Oh you multiplets of hadronic particles, give praise to the Lord. To Him be highest glory and praise forever.’
In excellent his book, Modern Physics and Ancient Faith… Read more
from Marisa Pereira, “Her Ladyship”
Middle school ushers in the identity crisis years. As soon as our kids turn the corner and move from “tween” to “teen,” they start to feel rather important – understandably so. Physically, they start to look like adults and the schools acknowledge their growth by giving them a new identity – “middle-schoolers.” This ensures they are not going to be classed in the embarrassing category of “kids” anymore.
In their quest to be independent, yet still find a way to fit in and be accepted by their peers, our teens struggle with their “new skin.” They therefore look to the Joneses – in the media, neighborhood, school, anywhere – and every day they might have new “role models” to keep up with. My own experience has not been very different. My daughter took this new found identity quite seriously and from time to time we certainly had our tug-of-war. She began to question chores and clothes and rules and anything or anyone she could. Gone were the days when she put herself in time out, thinking she had crossed the line. Now, in her mind, there were no lines to cross—she was an “adult” of course. Read More
from Mary Lane, “Young and Catholic”
I got a question from a reader asking why NFP is ok when the Church says artificial birth control is not. I was reminded of this comment I received on a recent post of mine:
“Use the pill for a month while having sex. No pregnancy.
“Use condoms for a month while having sex. No pregnancy.
“Use NFP for a month while having sex approximately for a possible 10-11 days of the month because that’s when fertility is low [disclaimer: this number is way off]. No pregnancy.
“Different ways of getting the same thing. No real difference.
“Well, NFP does have a difference I guess. It means having a lot less sex.
“I see why the Catholic Church approves.”
Zing! Gotta love the one-liner, right? Unfortunately, while one-liners are great for eliciting laughs, they’re rarely ideal for facilitating thoughtful discussion. And even though thoughtful discussion may not be the goal of the mock-news shows we watch on Comedy Central, it becomes a problem when us normal, everyday-folk confuse these snarky remarks for valid arguments. So let’s take this one head-on. Read more…
from Dan Spencer, “Money, Sex & Power”
I have secretly harbored the distinct impression that both her confession and her time with our joint spiritual director routinely included discussions about my being success-challenged. “Bless me father, for my husband has sinned” kind of thing. Not that there weren’t valid grounds for such conversations. I was hardly a “Lenten Poster Child” in domestic life. I frequently thought how much less time consuming and more honest it might be if she simply drew up my list.
